


Shallow scars uncover bigger hearts

by queen_in_shining_armour



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Lance has depression, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Alternating, Pining Keith (Voltron), in part 2 keith is still gone for lance sorry, keith is gone for lance okay, keith looks emo and he accepts it now, mentions of self harm, part 2 tags!, talking about mental health, there is no actual self harm though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-05-31 04:29:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15111830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_in_shining_armour/pseuds/queen_in_shining_armour
Summary: He sees the scars, red scratches on hands and wrists, and he needs to know why he is hurting.Two separate one-shots with the same prompt.





	1. If I told you I liked you...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [telesiod](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=telesiod).



> These two one-shots are based on a true story told to me by a friend. This is my gift to her.

Lance strolled across campus, listening to some music during his free hour between classes. It was a nice day, warm with a slight breeze. The perfect day to take a little breather from everything. Lance stripped off his jacket and tied it around his hips.

He was headed towards his favourite spot, hoping that it wasn’t taken and that he could take a nap in the sun before heading to his lecture on linguistics.

His phone buzzed, a text from Pidge reminding him not to be late for his lecture. He sighed in exasperated amusement. Once, _he was late once_ , and this is the treatment he gets. However, Lance took care to set an alarm for ten minutes before his lecture anyway, just in case.

As luck would have it, his usual hangout was mostly devoid of people, and Lance sat down on his jacket to begin his forty minutes of quiet time.

 

 

Keith wasn’t even supposed to be on campus today, as it was his free day, but Rolo had insisted on a study session for their group project. They had just finished and Keith looked forward to going home like he was meant to.

Tuesday afternoons were busy days for the rest of the university’s students, so Keith had to park his bike farther than usual, under the languages building. Therefore it was entirely by chance that he stumbled upon Lance sunbathing in a corner.

Surprised, he stood still, hoping he hadn’t disturbed Lance. He appeared completely unawares, eyes closed and fingers tapping along to the faint sounds of music Keith could discern from his earphones. His face was wiped clean of his usual smirk, and was instead the epitome of peace of mind.

Keith couldn’t help but stare a little. Here was a fine opportunity to admire Lance without him looking back at him or teasing him. Rationally, Keith knew Lance could open his eyes any minute and he would look like a total creep, but his voice of reason was ignored as it so often was when it concerned Lance.

Keith was aware he had a major crush on Lance for a few months now. Even though Lance was now single again, Keith hadn’t really paid any special attention to his feelings for him. For the time being he was trying to just get closer to Lance and become his friend at least. Hopefully the attraction would putter out by itself.

As he gazed over Lance, a few stray strands of hair gently swaying in the breeze and shining like bronze under the sunlight, he noticed his hands.

Lance’s hands and wrists were strewn with thin cuts, fresh and red. Alarmed, Keith took a step forward. Sometimes, Keith had noticed Lance looking away to the distance, his ever present smile faded and his eyes glazed over with a somber look that should have no place being there. Was Lance… hurting himself?

Lance frowned, visibly bothered by the shadow Keith was casting.

“Hey,” he muttered, as he rubbed his eyes before he opened them. They widened with recognition. “Oh hey Keith, what’s up buddy?”

Keith flinched. He was caught. ‘Oh shit. Play it cool Keith, play it cool.’

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Oh nothing much, how are you?”

“Pretty chill. You wanna sit here?” Lance smiled up at Keith and folded away those long, long legs to make room for him.

“Uh, sure.” He sat down and leaned against the wall next to Lance. He then realised he didn’t know what to do or say anymore.

“Is everything alright?” He asked, worry lacing his voice.

Lance raised an eyebrow, slightly puzzled. “Uh, yeah man. I mean, exams have me stressed out and all but… why all the seriousness, Mullet?”

Keith spluttered and glared at him for the nickname. Lance simply watched Keith’s hair shift in front of his eyes as he looked down.

“I’m worried about you, Lance.”

“Uh…”

Keith reached out to gently grab Lance’s hand. “Your scars,” he whispered, as he traced over them with his fingertips.

Lance blinked at him.

“If you want to talk to someone about your thoughts and you don’t want to worry your friends, then you can always talk to me okay? I would never judge you.”

Lance pursed his lips and, ignoring the more pressing issue, protested.

“No no no no no! Of course we’re friends! We’ve been friends since you ‘accidentally’,” he rolled his eyes and made air quotes with his fingers, “threw a snowball in my face.”

“Really?” Keith asked, suddenly feeling very sheepish. It had snowed on the day they first met, when Pidge had insisted that Keith should be introduced to their friends. Pidge was also the one who had instigated the snowball fight, and Keith had hit Lance while aiming for them. He’d always assumed they were just friends of a mutual friend, who hung out as part of a group and exchanged rivalry and teasing. Yeah.

“Yeah man.” Then Lance looked at him dead in eye, his eyes so soft and a small smile tugging at his lips, and Keith realised he was still holding Lance’s hand.

He averted his eyes for a second and let go, not able to withstand Lance’s friendly gaze.

“Okay so, would you talk about those scars with a friend?”

Lance’s expression jolted. “Oh quiznack! Keith these aren’t what you think! My cat gave me these!”

“A... cat…?”

“Yeah,” Lance confirmed. “Blue was a little moody yesterday and decided to take it out on me…” Lance finished his explanation with an adorable little huff, and Keith suddenly felt very embarrassed.

‘Oh shit,’ he thought as he turned bright red.

Lance turned back to him. “You thought I had… Problems?” he asked with his brows furrowed, his eyes reflecting an emotion Keith couldn’t quite place.

“I kind of got the feeling you hide your sadness from others and I was worried you were… repressing… stuff,” he finished haltingly and feeling very self-conscious.

Lance hummed. Then just when Keith thought he should leave and probably avoid Lance for the rest of eternity, Lance pulled out his phone.

“Do you wanna see photos of Blue?” he asked, tilting his head at his phone and leaning towards Keith.

“Uh yeah.”

Lance went straight to a file on his phone with all the photos of his cat.

“So her name is Blue and she’s a Russian Blue, but I swear that isn’t how we got her name! Well it’s sort of the the case, you see my papá…”

And so Keith listened to Lance babble away as he flicked through countless snaps of Blue, sometimes with Lance’s siblings but mostly of just Blue on her own, pausing slightly at every photo to give Keith a chance to properly look.

His finger stopped, hovering over the screen as Lance got lost in telling a story, and Keith glanced at the picture.

Lance’s stream of chatter fell to the background as he stared, totally enthralled by the photo. Blue was once again in the shot, her blue eyes looking straight at the camera, but Keith was more fixated on another pair of clear blue eyes.

Many times had Keith heard Lance proclaim to be the selfie king, but he had never really stopped to think about how true it was.

Standing against the backdrop of a golden sunset that made his hair glow like a halo of burnished gold, Lance held Blue up to his face as he posed for the picture. His lips were pressed into an adorable pout meant for the camera, that did things to Keith’s poor unsuspecting heart. Lance’s eyes burned straight through him.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, unchecked.

Lance grinned. “Yeah and the cat’s not bad either,” he joked in his usual manner.

Keith couldn’t possibly stop himself, sitting so close to Lance on the end of a flirtatious smirk and not a taunt for once, so his response came without any resistance.

“Yeah, you are,” he murmured, his voice unexpectedly deep and husky with feelings.

 

 

Lance startled at Keith’s answer, not foreseeing an honest reply to his flirty attitude. He held his breath, searching Keith’s face for any hint that he was joking. Instead Keith’s gaze kept a hold on his eyes, despite the growing blush flooding his face.

Lance finally looked away and bit his lip. He hesitated before speaking.

“You were right y’know. About the whole ‘hiding my feelings’ thing. Just because I don’t cut doesn’t mean I don’t have issues I guess…” He hated telling people, but the moment felt propitious for revealing the truth. He laughed bitterly. “Either you know me well or I’m an open book.”

“I know you well. Or at least, maybe a little. You wear your heart on your sleeve, but your mind is closed off. Sometimes I see you staring off into the distance with this somber look in your eyes and... I feel as if I don’t know you at all.”

“I have bad days and bad thoughts. I try to deal with it.”

“Alone?” Keith asked.

“Mostly. Hunk helps me. He’s the only person who knows other than my parents.”

“And now me,” Keith added, leaning into Lance slightly. He hoped Lance could understand everything he meant by those three simple words, everything it promised and more.

“And now you,” Lance echoed, apprehension tinging his voice and setting him on edge. His eyes were filled with such hopefulness, it charged the air between them like electricity.

Keith looked him in the eye resolutely. “You know that means I will be there for you too. I’ll always have your back, Lance.”

His words were so sincere that Lance knew he could trust Keith implicitly. Those violet eyes held so much determination and strength. Lance felt safe, but also completely exposed at the same time.

He bit his lip and whispered, “is this a good time to admit that I like you?”

Keith’s mouth fell open and imparted a short, sharp gasp. Lance liked him? Really?

Lance’s lip quivered and his eyes looked so lost and panicked in an instant that Keith grabbed his hands again.

“The best time,” he replied, proud that his voice didn’t crack even though his heart felt like it was about to burst. “I like you too.”

Lance’s answering smile was worth all the embarrassment of his misunderstanding.

Lance saw Keith’s eyes dart down to his lips and he did the same, his heart screaming at him to finally kiss the boy of his dreams. He leaned in slightly as a hint, then got distracted by Keith’s dark lashes that framed his beautiful violet eyes.

Keith closed the gap further. Lance was closer now, gazing at him adoringly, his breath ghosting over Keith’s lips. He had freckles like stardust and Keith just wanted to kiss those constellations. His lips were right there, he edged closer, tantalisingly slow. He brushed his lips ever so lightly against Lance’s and felt his heart almost thrum with anticipation.

Sudden piano and clapping played somewhere near them and Lance whirled around to grab his phone. Keith tried to swallow the choking sound he made when his heart leapt into his throat in shock.

“Quiznack,” Lance muttered as he juggled with his phone to silence the sounds of what Keith now recognised as Lance’s current favourite song. Lance’s ears burned and he was sure they were bright red. He turned to look at Keith regardless.

“So, um, I have class right now. Catch up later?” He cursed internally for trampling all over the moment. Keith nodded, looking just as embarrassed and awkward as Lance felt.

Lance stood and held his hand out to Keith to lift him up. He had that look on his face that Keith knew meant trouble. He took hold and let himself be pulled up. Lance yanked harder than Keith expected and he shot up and into Lance’s awaiting frame. His smug expression proved premeditation as Lance snaked his other arm around Keith’s waist.

“I’ll call you tonight,” he promised, a saucy wink wrapping up his display of affection. He released Keith’s waist only to bring up the hand he was still holding and placing a kiss upon it.

Keith made an effort to appear calm and smirked at Lance, all the while his insides were turning to sappy mush.

Satisfied, Lance dashed off towards the language building, narrowly missing crashing into someone when he spun around at the last second to glance at Keith, who had already turned away and was typing on his phone.

Lance couldn’t have kept the grin off his face even if he tried, and his unrelenting giggling and foot tapping prompted his classmates Plax and Swirn to force a confession out of him.

 

 

When Lance stepped into the main hall an hour later, he couldn’t remember anything from the lecture. He’d have to study the teacher’s powerpoint presentation when he got home. 

He stepped outside and basked in the fading afternoon warmth for a second. A smile curved his lips, he had a phone call to make when he got home too.

He turned the corner, when suddenly a hand latched onto his arm. He yelped and twisted around.

“Woah Lance, it’s me.” It was Keith.

“Oh. Yeah I knew that,” Lance blatantly lied. Keith smirked, not at all convinced.

“What are you doing here? I thought you finished for the day,” Lance asked.

“Pidge told me you only had one hour left. I waited for you.”

“Why?”

Keith bit his lip in an attempt to mask his overwhelming grin. “I wanted to surprise you.” He wrapped his arms around Lance’s neck. “Boyfriend.”

_ Boyfriend _ .

Lance leaned down into his embrace, wrapping his arms around Keith’s back.

“Well that was very kind of you,” he replied, tilting his head ever so slightly and lowering his eyelids. “Boyfriend.”

Keith smiled at that and raised his lips to meet Lance’s. No more slow, sweet torture, Keith was going to kiss Lance into outer space. He slanted his mouth and pressed against Lance’s lips.

Lance felt waves crash in his stomach and sparks in his fingers. He sank those sparks into Keith’s hair and licked at Keith’s lower lip.

Keith pulled away for breath. Lance’s eyes were shining and that grin was back again. He hummed. “So you  _ do _ like me,” he laughed gently.

“Of course,” Keith affirmed. “You’re you.”

Well, if that didn’t compel Lance to kiss Keith again then what would?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey so hope you enjoyed this ;) my first klance fic up here (whoop whoop)  
> I almost didn't give them a kiss, but that just felt evil  
> This was supposed to be light-hearted and got way out of control lmao
> 
> Part 2 will be up soon ;) Lance chases after Keith


	2. ... Would you let me hold your hand?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But with the sleeves up, now Lance can see. He sees the bright red against pale skin, the long and deep looking scratches -both new and old- on his wrists that trail under the gloves to certainly cover his hands too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now it's Keith turn to have scratches and have Lance fawning over him ;) credit again goes to my friend telesiod who told me the true story off of which these two one-shots are based.

Lance almost sprints out of the language building, his bag swinging and bumping into his hip with every bounce. He can’t wait to get home and relax. Today marks the last of his exams, when Lance can finally let his brain rest and focus on nothing.

Although maybe he should focus on looking where he’s going.

Lance slams into someone as he rounds the corner, falling sideways into the wall for support. His victim however is not so lucky and completely topples over.

Lance is rattled, but immediately reaches down to help the person up.

“I’m so sorry,” he gushes without thinking. “I really didn’t see y-”

His brain gives up on him and short circuits, rendering him mute except for the embarrassing whine that escapes his choked up throat.

A mullet really shouldn’t look that sexy, but this guy somehow makes it work. Add to that the most dazzling eyes a boy could ever dream of, a strong and chiseled nose, and a jawline that could cut steel? Lance is in love.

That’s when flirty-bisexual-and-totally-in-control-Lance takes over, suavely taking the hottie’s hand and lifting him off the ground.

“Hey,” Lance addresses in what he hopes is a smooth and alluring voice. The guy glares at him before he turns around and walks away. Undeterred, Lance follows.

“So what do you study here?”

Those dark, angry eyes move back to him, frowning as the owner obviously expects Lance to leave him alone without explicitly making the request.

Lance’s gaze trails off from his face down to his hands. “Nice gloves you got there… bet they pack a punch.”

When the guy faces him suddenly and starts pushing up his sleeves, his expression inflamed, Lance winces at the terrible suggestion he’d just made.

He takes a step back unconsciously, the alarms in his head blaring.

But with the sleeves up, now Lance can see. He sees the bright red against pale skin, the long and deep looking scratches -both new and old- on his wrists that trail under the gloves to certainly cover his hands too.

Lance freezes.

Satisfied with the reaction, the guy steps over to a motorbike and grabs the helmet. Lance panics.

“No no wait, um just wait please, I'm sorry! Can we uh, can we talk?”

Mullet guy stops and considers him again, looking more exasperated this time than angry. “What do you want, man?” he asks for the first time.

“I… uh…” Lance stammers. In all honesty, Lance had no idea how to proceed. If only he had Hunk, or maybe even anyone else but himself, but he didn't, so this time he was on his own. 

Lance looks down at his feet to find his words, his throat tight with nerves. He resists the urge to dig his hands in his pockets.

“I want to make sure you're okay.”

The guy smirks. “I might have a bruise but I think I'll survive. It's not like I hit a wall,” he teases, raking Lance's form up and down with a sharp look.

Lance can feel that he’s burning red. He looks straight into those dark, angry eyes and steels himself.

“Your wrists.”

Lance grabs one of those gloved hands, making the other guy splutter.

“I can’t say that I’ll have any advice for whatever it is that you're going through,” Lance continues, “but maybe talking about it could help…”

“What are you talking about?”

“The scars… on your wrists…”

  
  


And in that moment, those clear blue eyes looked so bewildered, that Keith just had to laugh. 

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“Sorry,” Keith says between bursts of laughter, not feeling sorry at all. “But your face… priceless,” he snickers.

This boy went from knocking him over, to flirting with him, then got himself in this awkward situation. Keith should probably be offended, but honestly, it was really funny. As a bonus, the guy is insanely cute.

He looks confused and embarrassed, cheeks burning red in a way Keith finds strangely adorable. What else could make him blush like that?

Keith abruptly blinks away the thought.

“I don’t self-harm if that’s what you’re insinuating,” he states.

“I- oh…” The guy drops his gaze to his shoes and puts his hands in his pockets. He looks as if he’s retreating into himself, a far cry from the confident, laid-back character from before. Keith wonders which is the real one. He was flirty and annoying at first, but then showed he could be observant -if a little hasty- and kind, to a stranger no less. Now however he seems uncomfortable and somewhat lost.

“What’s your name?” Keith asks, in the vague hope that a name could help him figure out who this mystery man is.

“Lance,” comes the reply, wariness sneaking into the introduction.

“I’m Keith,” he offers as he holds out his hand. Lance hesitates for a second before he shakes it. His palm is warm and soft, and Keith puzzles on why he notices that.

When they let go, Lance’s hand goes immediately to the back of his neck. “So…” he begins, “about, um… look I just- I didn’t mean to offend you or anything! I jump to conclusions a lot and- well… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“And what made you assume that? Aside from the scratches,” Keith asks, because he knows there is more to it.

Lance gestures vaguely to Keith’s attire, consisting of fingerless leather gloves, a leather jacket, black ripped jeans and a Fall Out Boy shirt he borrowed from Shiro. Keith raises an eyebrow, daring Lance to say it.

“Well it looks a bit emo, okay?” Lance huffs, crossing his arms and looking down again.

Keith feels an agreeing smile creeping on his face. “Yeah, you’re right, even my friends say that. My friend Pidge swears that I emerged fully grown from a My Chemical Romance CD.”

Lance looks up, eyes wide. “Pidge? Matt’s sibling? Pidge as in ‘go away Lance you’ll get glitter on my computer’, Pidge? That Pidge?”

“You know Pidge?” Keith asks, surprised. Lance nods. Keith would never have guessed that Pidge would be friends with Lance, they seemed like polar opposites.

“‘You’ll get glitter on my computer’?” he adds in an amused tone.

Lance blushes again. “I didn’t,” he mumbles. “Not on their computer. Pidge is just paranoid.”

Keith chuckles. “Sounds like something they’d say. How do you know them?” Keith leans back slightly on his bike and Lance’s frame relaxes, tension dropping from his shoulders at the action.

“We met on our first day here actually. I kinda fanboyed on their tech.”

“Are you an engineer?”

“No, I major in foreign languages. I do computer science as a hobby.”

Keith raises an eyebrow, impressed. He utters a “neat hobby” comment to which Lance grins, rolling languidly on the balls of his feet and replying, “What about you?”

Lance’s smile is contagious and spreads to Keith’s lips as he realises their encounter has come full circle.

“Astrophysics.”

Lance whistles in praise and Keith feels his pride surge in his chest. He’s proud of his career choice, especially after so many people doubted he would get in. Even now, most people don’t believe him. Lance takes it in without batting an eyelid and Keith values that.

Lance clears his throat and gives Keith an indescribable look.

“So, um… what exactly are those scars?” he asks in a low voice. “If you don’t mind me asking…”

Under Lance’s more somber gaze, Keith lifts his hands up to eye level and almost snorts. “My cat gave me these.”

“A cat?! Dude…!”

Keith’s smile is fond. “Red is a feisty one. She loves play fighting and gets grumpy a lot, so she takes it out on me.”

“She sounds like a sweet ball of fluff and cuddles,” Lance jokes. “I have a cat myself, though Blue is definitely more of a snuggler.”

Keith’s laughter surprises even him this time. Lance grins too, as realisation hits him.

“Did we really name our cats Red and Blue,” he blurts out. Lance is in tears next to him now, but his laugh is such a melodious sound it’s unfair. 

And then Keith is suddenly struck by how beautiful Lance is, cheeks red and smile wide as he absorbs their silly joke. Another side of him seems to be unveiling itself, and Keith can’t seem to get enough of it.

“Oh hey,” Lance exclaims, “do you have any pictures of Red?”

In all honesty Keith has hundreds of photos of his cat, far more than he’d like to admit anyway, but he dutifully pulls up a snap on his phone, showing Red with her teeth tearing into his hand.

“Oh wow,” Lance breathes, his eyes glued to the screen. “You really weren’t kidding about her being feisty. It looks like you’re both locked in combat, and she’s about to make a kill shot.” Keith snickers at that. “She’s gorgeous though,” Lance adds, “like she’s got a fire in her eyes.”

The compliment strikes a chord in Keith. It’s a meaningful sentiment that feels unique and special, and even though it wasn’t directed at Keith, it makes him feel warm nevertheless.

Keith peeks at the photo Lance found. His cat, Blue, is curled up on someone’s bed, sleepy eyes locking onto the person behind the camera. Blue’s eyes are the brightest colour blue he’s ever seen on a cat.

His attention drifts over to Lance’s blue eyes, a shade darker but just as beautiful, if not more so when framed by soft locks of curly brown hair.

Warm. That’s how Lance makes him feel. He’s known him for all of twenty minutes, but Lance is like a whirlwind that sweeps him up into him. 

Keith still isn’t sure who Lance is, but he’d sure like to find out.

“Lance would you, uh, would you like to meet Red sometime?”

“You bet buddy! We can be comrades in arms in the war against kitten claws!”

Lance smirks at him. A new smile, cocky yet soft, and proving to Keith that this was the right choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! Each of them had their turn (basically I wrote two versions bc we couldn't decide who should have which role so bam! two fics)
> 
> The chapter titles are part of one whole question btw :) the original title for this was "klance cat scars" and it will forever be thus in my mind...
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
